Nov. 9 - ETC, Singapore Join Forces

Contact: Eric Sloss
412-268-5765

Carnegie Mellon Collaborates With National University
Of Singapore To Create Concurrent Digital Media Degree

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) is partnering with the National University of Singapore's School of Computing (NUS) and the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore to offer a degree in Interactive Digital Media.

"Carnegie Mellon is delighted to participate in this new collaborative program," said Jared L. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon. "This joint venture creates new opportunities for well-prepared students from NUS's School of Computing to come to the Entertainment Technology Center for graduate study, enabling these students to contribute to the global entertainment technology industry."

The new opportunity allows students to obtain both a Bachelor of Computing in Communications and Media (BComp C&M) degree from NUS and a Master of Entertainment Technology (MET) degree from Carnegie Mellon in five years. Outside the concurrent program, the BComp program takes four years to complete, and the MET requires two years.

The concurrent program is the latest in the School of Computing's contributions toward upholding efforts in helping students discover and realize their full potential through quality education.

"NUS is pleased to partner with Carnegie Mellon and IDA to offer aspiring interactive digital media professionals opportunities, space and challenges to pursue their passion and hone their creative and technical skills," said NUS President Shih Choon Fong.

"This partnership to nurture talent in interactive and digital media will advance NUS's aim to play a vital role in Singapore's push to build strengths in this strategic area," Shih added.

The program is offered with scholarship support from the IDA of Singapore under its National Infocomm Scholarship program. NUS will send a maximum of 20 students to Carnegie Mellon each academic year. Students will spend the first 3 1/2 years at NUS for completion of their BComp degree and the next 1 1/2 years at one of the various ETC campuses around the world to meet the MET degree requirements.

"What the National University of Singapore and the Carnegie Mellon ETC have in common is a commitment to excellence and a desire to see our research developed, implemented and commercialized rapidly," said Don Marinelli, executive producer of Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center. "We both seek to impact the world broadly and directly. NUS is such a kindred spirit that our becoming brethren makes all the sense in the world."

Established in 1998, the NUS School of Computing is home to approximately 200 faculty members who have come from leading universities worldwide. With a student population of about 2,100 — a quarter of them graduate students — the school operates on the clear recognition that computer science fundamentals must play a critical role in many emerging technologies as well as in the general IT industry. This operating philosophy drives the school's approach to both teaching and research.

The Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon offers an interdisciplinary master's program with the College of Fine Arts and School of Computer Science. Although students come from both fine arts and technology backgrounds, they are not expected to master both fields. Instead, the program focuses on honing the students' existing skills and teaching them to work effectively with other professional groups. Carnegie Mellon is the only university to offer a master's degree in entertainment technology.